Gifting money

xmfclick

I have googled for Gifting and understand the principles, but what I can't find is anything that says *how* something is gifted. What is the physical mechanism?

That is, can I just give my relative a cheque and say "I am gifting this to you", or do I have to sign some kind of legal document in the presence of a notary/lawyer or similar? How could they later prove that the gift had actually been a gift? (I'm actually talking about gifting to one's child, so I'm talking about more than the paltry £3000 gift limit, and therefore we are into PET territory.)

TIA,
Click

tyllwyd

I'm not a lawyer, but as far as I know you don't actually have to do anything to prove that something is a gift (although I don't suppose some kind of a formal document would hurt). But if you are worried about PET, maybe you should think about giving smaller amounts on a regular basis, so that they become gifts out of your normal income and (if I've got it right) not taxable. Another idea is contributing to a stakeholder pension for the child. And if it is a substantial amount, how about putting it in trust?

(Whoops, I realised I misread your original post, and didn't realise you were talking about your own child. Is this child over or under 18?)

CLAPTON

Just give them the money... no need to inform anyone or document unless you wish to.

It will be a PET for 7 years.

If the child earns more than 100 interest on the money you gave, then you need to declare it to HMRC as it's deemed your income and not the childs.

Robert_Sterling_3

You can give anyone any amount at any time it is as simple as that.

If large sums of money are involved you can take steps if you wish to minimise IHT.